Page 36 of Heal For Me

Jethro runs a tattooed hand down his face, and sighs. “She’s going to be a mess. I saw that look in her eye.”

So did I.

“I can help.”

But he shakes his head. “No. Payson is going to need professional care, Ashley.” His jaw tics. “I understand you want to be the one to heal her, but Payson’s healing is not up to us, it is her responsibility.”

My molars cry out with pressure from grinding them. “She can’t do it alone.”

“No one can do it for her.”

This is such a bloody predicament to be in. The selfish part of me wants to demand I can handle it. The other part, the smaller but better part, wonders if a professional might be a better answer.

I wish I knew the right answer, but I don’t. I can only hope—and pray—that whatever happens is the best option for her.

“So, where do we go from here?” Jethro’s brows raise. “Don’t give me that fucking look. You can think whatever you want about me, but I love her more than my selfish side.”

A beat passes and then he dips his chin. “I have looked at several places that specialize in the type of care Payson requires. Including the one that is near Janelle, so I reached out to her family since they are out that way seeing if they would check it out for me. It has amazing ratings, and she toured the place. Says it’s more like a—he raises both hands making air quotes—“‘Hella fancy hotel than a care center.’”

“She thinks it would be good for Pay?”

He nods.

If Janelle thinks it would, then it must be okay. She would never have Payson sent somewhere she didn’t think would be good. The only issue is looks can be deceiving.

“I want to fly out and see it for myself. I was going to go in a few weeks when she is back in school, but considering she is going to need it sooner than later, I’d like to go soon.”

“She can stay with me.”

His lips flatten with disapproval, but he bites back whatever he is thinking, and it’s a good thing because I’m a fucking thirty-three-year-old man. He has no authority over me. I don’t care if his niece is his responsibility, she’s mine.

“I’m trusting you to care for her. That means sometimes being a dick.”

“She doesn’t call me Ash-hole for no reason.”

He half snorts. “Fine. I will get a flight for tomorrow. Gone a day, two max.”

“Fucking move there for all I care. Payson is my fiancée, and one day will be my wife, stop treating her like a child and me like a horny teenage boy.”

“She is a child.”

My voice comes out a growl. “She hasn’t been a child in a long time, and you bloody know it.”

There is no denying Payson was forced to grow up before she should have. No one goes through the shit she did and stays innocent and childlike. As much as I wish she grew up having a normal childhood, she didn’t, and I can’t change it now. Maybe there is still a part of Jethro that blames himself, and I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part in me that felt the same. Since walking into her life, he has looked out for her, and that’s all I can ask.

“My main priority is seeing Payson thrive. She is too brilliant for anything else,” I say.

“All I’ve ever wanted was to see her come out on top. I failed Jason, and even if she isn’t biologically my daughter, I’ve always looked at her more of an estranged daughter than a niece.”

I level my stare with him. “So, we are in agreement. Payson’s healing is our number one priority.”

“Yes.”

I stand and hold my hand out, he takes it in his, and a silent truce is formed.

16

Payson

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